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Larry Magid: Is the internet responsible for increased anxiety?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:56 GMT

I’m not a mental health professional, but it’s obvious to me that many people today are dealing with stress, anxiety, fear and depression. This can be true for people of any age and background, but there are special considerations when it comes to young people and marginalized people, especially if they feel they are under attack, such as many in the LGBTQ+ community.Related ArticlesBusiness | Magid: Is artificial intelligence the next search engine? Business | Magid: Scammers get trickier in pursuit of your money Business | Magid: Using tech to help with taxes Business | Magid: New tool helps young people remove explicit online images Some of this anxiety stems from exposure to media, but the media is – for the most part – the messenger of scary news, not the cause of it. The news media didn’t cause a shooter to kill three children and three adults at a Nashville elementary school or cause the death of 19 students and ...

Jennifer Aniston says a ‘whole generation’ now finds ‘Friends’ offensive

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:56 GMT

By Lisa Respers France | CNNJennifer Aniston is reportedly reflecting on “Friends” now feeling out of step with the times.The actress was promoting her new Netflix film “Murder Mystery 2,” costarring Adam Sandler, when the topic came up.“Comedy has evolved, movies have evolved,” Aniston told AFP in Paris, according to Yahoo.“Now it’s a little tricky because you have to be very careful, which makes it really hard for comedians, because the beauty of comedy is that we make fun of ourselves, make fun of life,” Aniston said.She also touched on how much the culture has changed since “Friends” debuted in 1994.Related ArticlesTV Streaming | Sharon Stone’s new lament: Paid $13m less than Michael Douglas for ‘Basic Instinct’ TV Streaming | Trixie Mattel: Drag bans are the real threat, not drag shows TV Streaming | Brad Pitt moving to Carmel after selling L.A. compoun...

Study: Saratoga has some of the highest credit scores in the country

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:56 GMT

Saratoga residents have some of the highest credit scores in the country.A study by personal finance website WalletHub showed the West Valley city has a median credit score of 787, the highest in the Bay Area and the fifth highest reported credit score nationwide.WalletHub analyzed the median credit scores of residents in 2,568 cities to come up with the rankings. Credit scores are used to determine a consumer’s credit risk, and range from 300 to 850. Having a high credit score can make it easier to get a loan, rent an apartment or lower insurance rates.Los Altos was the second highest-ranked city in the region, placing eighth with a median score of 785. New Brunswick, NJ, was ranked No. 1 in the nation with a score of 816, followed by The Villages, FL, De Pere, WI, and Sun City West, AZ, all of which were considered small cities for the purposes of Wallethub’s study.Saratoga has a population of 30,163 with an average household income of $224,179, according to the latest Censu...

Prep roundup: Los Gatos slugs its way past Mountain View in baseball

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:56 GMT

BaseballDonovan Freed ignited an eight-run fifth inning with a grand slam as Los Gatos stayed undefeated in the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League’s De Anza Division with an 11-7 victory at home over Mountain View on Wednesday.The visitors led 4-2 when Freed launched a bases-clearing home run to center field. He had five RBIs in the game.The Wildcats added four more runs in the inning and then held off an opponent that swept Palo Alto last week and is ranked 15th by the Bay Area News Group.Brayden Smith finished with three hits and scored two runs, Carter Johnstone had two hits and two RBIs and Jake Boyd knocked in two runs as Los Gatos improved to 7-6, 3-0.Liam Barrett had two hits, including a home run, drove in three runs and scored twice and Billy Peir had three hits and scored three runs for Mountain View, which fell to 7-6-1, 2-1.The teams meet again Friday at Mountain View.Santa Clara 8, No. 18 Palo Alto 5Three outs from ending its losing streak, Palo Alto couldn’t find the s...

9 soldiers killed after 2 Blackhawk helicopters crash in Kentucky during training mission, Army official says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:56 GMT

Nine US servicemembers were killed after two helicopters with the 101st Airborne Division crashed in southwestern Kentucky on Wednesday, according to a US Army official. The source said there were no survivors.The two HH-60 Blackhawk helicopters crashed around 10 p.m. Wednesday in Trigg County near the Tennessee border, officials at nearby Fort Campbell previously said.Fort Campbell is expected to have a news conference at 10 a.m. ET.Crewmembers were flying “during a routine training mission when the incident occurred,” the base said in a statement on Facebook.Gov. Andy Beshear will travel to Fort Campbell to “support our troops and their families,” he said in a Thursday morning tweet.Related ArticlesCrashes and Disasters | Russia opens drill as it stops sharing missile test info with US Crashes and Disasters | Camp Pendleton is latest California agency to find PFAS chemical in drinking water Crashes and Disasters | Ukraine demands emergenc...

Sharon Stone’s new lament: Paid $13 million less than Michael Douglas for ‘Basic Instinct’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:56 GMT

Two weeks after Sharon Stone hinted that she lost a great deal of money in the Silicon Valley Bank collapse, the actor revealed Tuesday she was paid only $500,000 for her role in the 1992 erotic thriller “Basic Instinct.”Meanwhile, Stone said that her co-star Michael Douglas was paid a lot more, according to Page Six.Michael Douglas and Sharon Stone starred in “Basic Instinct.” (Photo: TriStar Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection) “Michael Douglas made $14 million,” Stone said to the crowd of mostly female film and TV executives at a gala luncheon for the New York Women In Film & Television’s 43rd annual Muse Awards, Page Six reported.“Now, I was new. I was new and he was a very big star,” Stone said, according to Page Six.Yes, at the time Douglas was one of Hollywood’s top box-office draws, after starring in a string of hits, from “Romancing the Stone” to “Fatal Attraction,” “Black Rain” and “Wall Stre...

Prep baseball and softball: Who are the top hitters, base stealers and pitchers so far?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:56 GMT

With constant rain putting most (but not all) Bay Area baseball and softball on hold for the last few days, now is the perfect time to take a look at who the statistical-leading best players in the region have been so far. Even with the wet weather altering the schedules in both sports, many teams have still been able to play a decent number of games and give their players a chance to shine. So with that said, let’s check out who the top players in the Bay Area New Group’s coverage area have been, according to statistics reported to MaxPreps.(Statistics as of Wednesday afternoon)BASEBALLHome runs1: Ryan Dodge, Woodside – 41: Thomas Trombatore, Bellarmine – 41: Evann Smith, St. Ignatius – 41: William Ashley, Branson – 41: Jai Benedito, Pinole Valley – 4Batting average (Minimum of 20 plate appearances)1: Tyler Louie, Jefferson – .7222: Carston Pearson, Dublin – .7203; Keanu Hennings, Skyline – .6674: David Bernstine III, Vallejo &#...

IOC finally makes Lashinda Demus a 2012 Olympics champion

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:56 GMT

LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) — American runner Lashinda Demus officially became an Olympic champion on Thursday, at the age of 40 and more than a decade after the 2012 London Games.Demus was formally reallocated the gold medal in the 400-meter hurdles by the International Olympic Committee because of the disqualification of Natalya Antyukh in fallout from the Russian doping scandal. On the London track on Aug. 8, 2012, Demus finished 0.07 seconds behind Antyukh, who was implicated last year in the second doping case of her career. Historical evidence recovered from a Moscow testing laboratory database let track’s Athletics Integrity Unit decide last October to strip Antyukh of all her results from July 2012 through June 2013. Demus will receive a gold medal from the IOC to add to her world title won in 2011. However, she was denied during her career the commercial benefits of calling herself an Olympic champion.Zuzana Hejnová of Czechia was upgraded to silver, and the bronze was reall...

Pakistan ups security as 11 killed in Ramadan food stampedes

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:56 GMT

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan on Thursday boosted security after 11 people were killed in stampedes at free wheat distribution centers for the poor since the start of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan last week, officials said. Cash-strapped Pakistan last week launched the initiative to distribute free flour among low-income families to ease the impact of record-breaking inflation and soaring poverty during the holy month. But as crowds swelled at the distribution centers across the country, many would panic in fear whether they would be able to get the flour, triggering the deadly stampedes. Eight deaths were reported in northwestern Pakistan and three in the eastern Punjab province. Observant Muslims abstain from food and water from dawn to dusk during Ramadan and then, as the sun sets, break their daytime fast with iftar, the evening meal. The flour distribution initiative was launched by Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif as his government is facing the worst economic cr...

Final Four: Last year’s bluebloods are this year’s no-names

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:56 GMT

HOUSTON (AP) — One short year ago, college basketball was getting ready for the game of a lifetime: North Carolina vs. Duke at the Final Four. And this year? Well, to put it kindly, who the heck are these guys? The NCAA Tournament, the annual event that has told and sold and made marketing gold out of the story of underdogs and busted brackets has, for 2023, produced an extreme rendition of what happens when all that cherished unpredictability plays itself out to the end.In one Final Four meeting Saturday, it will be San Diego State against Florida Atlantic. In the other, it will be Miami vs. UConn. “I expect the prognosticators to pick us fifth at the Final Four,” Florida Atlantic coach Dusty May said in a nod to the reality that nobody really expected the Owls, or any of these teams, to be here. Of the four programs descending on Houston this week, only one has ever sniffed a Final Four before. It’s the first time in 53 years that has happened. With its four national titles ...